Basmati rice versus the L.A. Times

The real reason newspaper sales are sluggish? Spotted at Veer's Dollar Store, 1107 W. Mission Road, Alhambra. (626) 458-8641. If you stop by, try the masala-flavored banana chips.

-- Elina Shatkin

Photo: Rob Takata / For The Times

Sampler Platter: Caroline on Crack's L.A. 'bucket list,' cheap beer & freebies

If you had it to do all over again, where would you eat, drink, dance and visit in Los Angeles? Caroline on Crack has posted a subjective and most excellent list (I'd argue that the subjectivity of "best of" lists is what makes them so intriguing) of what to do in Los Angeles before you die. What's on your list?

• From sauerkraut cocktails at Copa d'Oro to roasted bone marrow at Church & State to taro ice cream at Fosselman’s, Caroline on Crack posts her list of 100 Things To Try in L.A. Before You Die.
• Two Fullerton college students have joined forces to launch ThriftyBeer.com: You input your city or neighborhood and it outputs the top 10 locations that sell cheap beer (with a Google map too). LAist
• McDonald's dollar menu vs. KFC's ultimate value menu vs. Taco Bell's beef-and-cheese volcanoes: which fast-food value items are worth the money? Salon
• The planned Whole Foods at Selma and Vine is on hold until the market takes a better turn. Racked LA 
• Sinosoul ponders the morality of freebies while sipping free beer and eating free sliders at newly opened Pasadena brewpub. Brix 42. 
• La Cachette will close when La Cachette Bistro opens at the end of July. Eater LA

-- Elina Shatkin

Photos, from left: Dinner at the downtown restaurant Church & State. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times. Right: Miller Genuine Draft and Olde English 800. Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times